CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Students from Mary C. Snow Elementary School in Charleston are giving back to the West Side Community Gardens on campus.
On Tuesday, the children presented a wagon along with Charleston police officers, who head up the West Side leadership program at the school.
“It’s a way of us being able to have the kids be able to give back as part of a lesson to show what it feels like for them to give to someone else other than themselves,” said Sgt. Paul Perdue with the Charleston Police Department.
Through the program, officers meet with students at the school every Tuesday to mentor them. Perdue said it’s extremely important for them to have a relationship with kids outside of police calls.
“A lot of these kids, and just kids in general, see kids in bad situations and it’s better for them to get to see us in a positive light and be able to see us as people and know that we’re here to help them as well,” Perdue said.
Handle With Care, a program that launched at Mary C. Snow last year, has helped both police and school officials when it comes to dealing with kids who’ve experienced trauma in the home, Perdue said.
Teachers are notified by police officers if a student has a traumatic experience the night before coming to school.
“There have been incidences throughout the whole city. There have been incidences here as well and it’s extremely important that the teachers know that so that the kids get what they need during the day,” he said.
The wagon was donated by Lowe’s and was signed by all the students.